Russian Defense minister Shoigu comments on army and navy rearmament.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu chaired a teleconference with the top military brass in the National Defense Command Center. He spoke about the army and navy rearmament on the eve of a meeting in Sochi with the supreme commander-in-chief.

Defence Ministry chaired by the General of the Army Sergei Shoigu (Picture source: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)

Sergey Shoigu said over 1.5 trillion rubles were appropriated for the task in 2019 and over 70 per cent of the money was used for procurement of modern arms and hardware. The troops have received over 2,300 units of new and upgraded hardware. The target figures of procurement and modernization have been achieved 47 per cent. The pace of high-tech arms deliveries grew 6.7 per cent against the previous year. The share of modern weapons will comprise 68 per cent by the end of the year. "It will allow us to accomplish assigned missions," the minister said.

Much attention is paid to import replacement in arms procurement. "Whether western economic sanctions remain or not, we will continue to create a technologically independent system of armaments," Shoigu said.

Proper use of the defence procurement funds by the Defense Ministry was discussed. In addition to existing monitoring mechanisms, documents have been accepted since early 2019 to separately account for the financial activities of producers. It helps assess the effectiveness of the use of upfront payments and monitor the implementation of contracts at all production stages included in the cost of the contract. "Thus, we have an additional source of information on the implementation of each contract," the minister said. It helps determine the right price of products and make prudent decisions on upfront payments.

As for the auxiliary fleet, it will continue to develop as the navy is renewed. In October, the navy will receive four auxiliary vessels (SPK-54510 floating crane, RB-283 tugboats, and two target vessels). In 2020 and in the period up to 2022 three dredgers and five tankers will be built. The fleet will get a total of 176 auxiliary vessels by 2027.

Shoigu proposed to discuss the renewal of airlifter aviation, as the combat readiness of the armed forces directly depends on it. He said Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A heavy airlifter is being improved to fully comply with the technical assignment. Trials will continue this October month. Flight trials of a prospective air tanker are to be completed by May 2020.

The light Ilyushin Il-112V airlifter, which is to replace Antonov An-26, is being upgraded to decrease its weight. The flight trials will resume in the first quarter of 2020.

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